Bank Rakyat Chairman, Abdul Aziz nabbed over embezzlement probe

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/08/30/macc-picks-up-bank-chief-abdul-aziz-questioned-over-rm15mil-case-after-md-held/

MACC picks up bank chief 

PETALING JAYA: Bank Rakyat chairman Jen (ret) Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Haji Zainal has been detained for questioning over a RM15mil case, the second top level person from the bank to be hauled up by the MACC.

The bank’s managing director, Datuk Mustafha Abd Razak, was detained on Thursday and has since been remanded.

MACC investigation director Datuk Azam Baki confirmed that the commission had moved in yesterday.

“I confirm the arrest. It is to facilitate the ongoing investigation,” he said, declining to elaborate further.

A source told The Star that the chairman was detained at his office in Jalan Rakyat at about 1.15pm yesterday.

“Nearly RM1mil of the suspect’s cash in his bank account has been frozen pending the probe. We went to his office to detain him,” he said.

 

Jen (ret) Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Haji Zainal

The source added that the MACC did not rule out the possibility of freezing other assets belonging to the 65-year-old if the funds were found to be connected to any shady dealings.

“The commission will submit a request tomorrow morning (today) to remand the suspect,” the source said, adding that the graftbusters were aiming to obtain a lengthy remand.

The source said the duo were the only individuals from the bank who were being questioned by MACC over the case.

The chairman and the 48-year-old managing director were detained over a multi-million-ringgit book publishing contract and a project to upgrade the bank system.

The Star reported yesterday that a second banker was being sought by the MACC over the publishing contract and the upgrading project.

It is believed the RM15mil was given to a publishing company to come up with a coffee-table book about a prominent political figure. The deal was for the publisher to print about 20,000 copies but the number printed is said to have been much lower.

A source said that several bank accounts, totalling about RM10mil, have been frozen by the MACC in connection with the case.

 

Top executives: Mustafha (left) and Abdul Aziz. Datuk Mustafha Abd Razak

Another source told The Star that the MACC suspected several people of collaborating in the project.

“The MACC also wants the mastermind behind this,” the source said.

The MACC has been on crackdown against graft in high places in recent days.

On Aug 15, three government officers – one with the title “Datuk” and another “Datuk Seri” – were arrested by the MACC for graft, misuse of power and money laundering.

All three men, who were employed at a government department, a local authority and a government-linked company, were detained in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Kelantan respectively.

All accounts belonging to them – with deposits totalling more than RM13mil – were frozen.

It is not known if the cases are related.

By Nadirah H. Rodzi The Star

Bank Rakyat chairman remanded over RM15mil graft case to be held for seven days

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/08/31/bank-rakyat-chairman-to-be-held-for-seven-days/

http://www.thestartv.com/episode/bank-rakyat-chairman-remanded-over-rm15mil-graft-case/

PUTRAJAYA: Bank Rakyat chairman Jen (ret) Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Haji Zainal has been remanded for seven days to help in the investigation into an alleged corruption case involving RM15mil.

Magistrate Nik Isfahanie Tasnim Wan Ab Rahman granted the request by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for the remand to run until Sept 5.

The 65-year-old is one of three people from the financial institution to be questioned over a multimillion-ringgit book publishing contract and a project to upgrade the bank’s system.

Nearly RM1mil of Abdul Aziz’s cash in his bank account has been frozen pending the probe.

It is learnt that two others from a publishing company have also been further remanded until Friday.

However, the bank’s managing director Datuk Mustafha Abd Razak and a former procurement officer, and another two owners of the publishing company have been released by MACC as investigations against them have been completed.

In the case, RM15mil was believed to have been awarded to the publishing company to come up with a coffee-table book about a prominent political figure.

The deal was for the publisher to print about 20,000 copies but the number produced was said to have been much lower.

In another case involving the alleged abuse of power over a multi­million-ringgit oil pipeline project, six people – five contractors and an officer from an oil-and-gas company – have had their remand extended until Friday.

Two others – a contractor and another officer from the same oil-and-gas company – were released.

Magistrate Nik Isfahanie also allowed for a 27-year-old man, who is the son of a contractor implicated in the case, to be remanded for five days until Saturday.

He was detained at the MACC headquarters when he showed up to give a statement at 5pm yesterday.

MACC has frozen 17 bank accounts, with deposits totalling RM5.5mil, in connection with the case.

It also seized a double-storey house, some jewellery, several luxury cars including four Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari, a Toyota, a Mercedes and a Volkswagen, as well as two motor­cycles.

The managing director of the oil-and-gas company is alleged to have taken a bribe from a sub-contractor for appointing him and approving a falsified invoice for the RM76mil project.

By  Martin Carvalho, Hemananthani Sivanandam, Royce Tan, and Joash Ee De Silva The Star/Asia News Network

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Probe into housing bribery case

MACC investigating Penang rep’s father for allegedly soliciting money

GEORGE TOWN: The father of Sungai Pinang DAP assemblyman Lim Siew Khim is being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for allegedly soliciting money from applicants for low-cost and affordable housing.

It is learnt that MACC has begun calling up several people after a video clip purportedly showing Lim’s father, Keat Seong, was posted on social media on Sunday explaining to some people how to “cut queue” in the state’s housing schemes by paying RM260 for the application form and a few thousand ringgit to one “Uncle Lim”.

Penang MACC director Datuk Abd Aziz Aban could not be reached for comment but it is learnt that the commission had begun gathering information yesterday from the so-called victims, those featured in the video and several Gerakan leaders who held a Monday press conference on this.

Penang MCA deputy chairman Tan Teik Cheng said the case may just be the tip of the iceberg.

He said the Penang government should take action over the alleged soliciting of bribes by Lim’s father, a 68-year-old retiree.

“The state government proudly proclaims its ‘ Competent, Accountable and Transparent’ (CAT) policy, hence it should address the case instead of playing up the drama to divert public attention.

“After all, the demand by Penangites for low-cost housing is still high in view of the exorbitant property prices,” he said in a statement yesterday.

State DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow has also posted on Facebook the photograph of headlines in three Chinese dailies and The Star, which all referred to Lim’s father.

The caption read: “We are politicians and public figures. What we do matters. Unfortunately, what our parents, spouses, in-laws, and even distant cousins do, also matters.”

Penang Gerakan Anti-Corruption and Land spokesman H’ng Khoon Leng said the party would be seeking an audience with the Penang Yang diPertua to ask for the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry into the matter.

State Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said there was no need to form a commission as it came under the purview of the police.

By  Arnold Loh and Tan Sin Chow The Star

Lim clarifies video comment

DAP rep forced to explain alleged bribery video statement

https://youtu.be/rxtjM3qK8Eo


http://www.thestartv.com/episode/lim-clarifies-video-comment/

GEORGE TOWN: Sungai Pinang DAP assemblyman Lim Siew Khim has been forced to clarify her earlier comments on her father’s alleged corruption case involving affordable housing units after the release of a second video clip on the issue.

“I did receive a call from a youth leader from another party sometime last year but when I confronted my father, he denied any involvement,” she said after opening a Youth Empowerment programme in Sungai Pinang yesterday.

Last Sunday, a video clip purportedly showing Lim’s father, Lim Keat Seong, soliciting bribes to help obtain low-cost housing units in the state as early as June 2015 went viral after being posted on social media.

Siew Khim was then quoted as saying: “All this (in the video) was without my knowledge and I only knew about it on Sunday night.”

Now, a second video clip, which lasted about three minutes, was released yesterday.

This time it shows a screen-grab of a Whatsapp conversation between a mediator and a victim.

“I contacted her and gave her (Siew Khim) one day to reply and find ways for her father to return the money,” the mediator was heard as saying to the victim.

In another conversation, a man, who is said to be Siew Khim’s stepbrother Ong Hock Hin, was heard saying that his sister (Siew Khim) had asked for a meeting to be arranged with the aggrieved parties.

Siew Khim refused to comment on the contents of the second video, urging the person who released it to lodge a police report.

“Why release bits and pieces? They should report it to the police with their evidence,” she said.

Siew Khim also denied asking her stepbrother Ong to arrange for a meeting with any of the victims.

Asked why she only confirmed she had confronted her father when the second video surfaced, she said she could not remember it.

While her father has been remanded for seven days, Siew Khim was grilled for two hours by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) on Friday.

When contacted, Penang MACC director Datuk Abdul Aziz Aban said he was not aware of the second video but would direct his officers to investigate it.

Siew Khim’s counsel Ram Karpal said it was an offence to withhold information on the case as it was now investigated by the MACC.

“I urge anyone with information on the matter to pass it to MACC,” he said in Air Itam yesterday.

Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the uploading of the two videos showed it was a politically motivated move against Siew Khim, the state government and DAP.

Source: The Star Malaysia4 Sep 2016By R. SEKARAN rsekaran@thestar.com.my

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Taiwan Tsai's policy indecision fails to transform into a real leader

Policy indecision marks Taiwan President Tsai's first 100 days in office

Video: channelnewsasia.com http://www.newsjs.com/url.php?p=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/policy-indecision-marks/3075912.html

President Tsai Ing-wen, who was voted into power following a wave of discontent towards the previous government in Taiwan, has faced a tough start in office.

Saturday is the 100th day since Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen was sworn into office. In the past few days, local media have been publishing polls on her falling approval ratings. The worst poll had only 39 percent of people supporting her.

The scores are worse than the 100-day polls about previous leaders Ma Ying-jeou and Chen Shui-bian.

Tsai told the media that she did not want people to rate her performance based only on her first 100 days of governance. This response backfired after the opposition Kuomintang shared online pictures of Tsai's anti-Ma campaign eight years ago that was launched after Ma had been in office for just 100 days.

Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) used to adamantly oppose nuclear power in Taiwan. Now they are changing their tune. The DPP used to oppose the import of US pork, now it has switched sides.

What is real about her is that she does not accept the 1992 Consensus that emphasizes that there is one China. She has been trying to get closer to the US and Japan. She advocates more cooperation with ASEAN members in order to be less dependent on the mainland.

She is not likely to succeed. Tsai is facing challenges similar to what Ma encountered in terms of "domestic" policies, that is, she has to develop the economy and improve people's lives.

Ma made a large stride in pushing forward cross-Straits economic cooperation. But he failed to transfer the benefits of closer cross-Straits ties to ordinary people on the island.

What Ma encountered was a problem also faced by many other developed places. Tsai and her party fellows are not magicians.

At least the KMT administration improved cross-Straits ties, introducing a surge of tourists from the mainland. Now the DPP has been in a hurry to cut off cross-Straits ties before it finds new economic pillars. DPP politicians are not like real leaders. They are still obsessed with their unrealistic ideology.

The US and Japan cannot give Taiwan much. "Taiwan independence" is only a political slogan for the DPP, but does not offer any real power to it. If Tsai cannot make any progress in improving people's living standards, but instead focuses on Taiwan independence, it will be like drinking poison to quench a thirst.

The Chinese mainland's rise has changed the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific and the global economic structure. If Taiwan tries to stay away from the mainland, it will marginalize itself.

Cross-Straits ties are no longer a matter solely about the 1992 Consensus. They are linked to Taiwan's long-term prosperity. If Tsai chooses to head the other way, she's going to hit a wall sooner or later.

Source: Global Times

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Be an entrepreneur or a politician?

Let your children decide on their employment choice

Most parents in their fifties are looking at retirement options when their children starts looking for employment after their studies. There is this transition moment in our family circle of life where the baton of employment, career or business is being passed to the next generation.

The older generation after 30 years of slogging, looks forward to easier passing of days without the responsibilities and worries whilst the younger generation looks forward with optimism and high hopes of securing a good career ahead.

As an entrepreneur with businesses and investments, my natural instinct is to rope them into the family business, if any, as any typical old generation Chinese businessman will do. But I made up my mind some 7 years ago when my first born started his A Level, that my children will make their own choice whether they will prefer to seek employment elsewhere or participate in the family business. It will be their choice and decision and I will support whole heartedly whatever decisions they will make. 7 years later, I still have the same conviction.

I had this feeling that the business world and environment will be much different with all these globalization and technological advancement and the businesses that I was in will be operating in a much more competitive and disruptive world order. This has proven to be true.

The traditional brick and mortar businesses are under tremendous stress to keep up with new disruptive technologies and new business ideas.

My children will have to learn new skills and insights and they definitely will not be able to learn from my traditional family business unless I had instituted changes to my existing business to join the new business order. But I did not know how.

So it is better that they decide on their choice of employment in whatever industries they choose as long as they are working for a forward looking company who is able to embrace the new technological changes that is changing the business order across the global markets. And if they do decide later after some years of working experience to venture out as an entrepreneur, I will also support them wholeheartedly.

Assuming they are up to it, with the right attitude and skill sets.

Not everyone is capable of being a ‘successful’ entrepreneur. It is easy to start a business, call yourself a founder and entrepreneur but chances of being successful is limited to the capable few. For most cases, you are better off building a good career in a good organization rather than struggling in a small scale business for the rest of your life.

If you planned to be an entrepreneur, just make sure your business potential is scalable to a size that will earned you nett, double what you would be earning in a good job. Or else it will be a waste of time. The thrill of being your own boss wears thin over time when you are not doing well financially.

I have many friends who have done very well in their corporate careers and they seem very happy when we do meet up. They definitely look younger than me, with less stressful lines, a radiant and happy face. Compared to my aged face filled with worried lines and scars of agony suffered through the years. Was it worth it?

With the wisdom of hindsight, I am now able to advise my children on their decision making process on whether they should be a corporate suit or to go on their own. My only guidance to them is whatever choice they make, just ensure their actions are productive and contribute towards the well being of the economy. Don’t be lazy, do good where you can and be as good as you can be. Then start a family. Circle of life starts again.

The only career that I totally discouraged my children from is the job of a politician. Good politicians are hard to find nowadays. Since integrity left the politicians, good virtues and honesty followed. What is left is a shell of a conniving and corrupted politician using whatever means they can to stay in power supposedly representing the people’s interest.

All over the world, the politicians together with religious and racist bigots have caused total mayhem to our daily lives. People are divided by race, religion and skin colour. Nothing makes sense anymore. Throw in lots of money into a politician’s hands and we have absolute corruption across the ranks. Cash is king. Everybody can be bought. And I mean everybody.

What is really sad is the complete breakdown of morality and integrity of the human politician. Where he suffers no shame when he is openly corrupted. When he can sleep well even though he has done many evil things destroying the moral fabric of the society which he swore to protect. I have nothing but despise for these toxic politicians.

The few genuine politicians who stand up their grounds to all are few and far between. Eventually, they too will engulfed by the all pervasive influence of corruption.

To the younger generation joining the working community, my only advice is to pick a job that fits your personality and your skill sets. Make sure you enjoy the job. Get some proper working experience under your belt and you can evaluate your options in a more leisurely way.

You will know when there is a calling for you to become an entrepreneur. You will be unhappy with your job, your bosses irritates you, there is a burning desire that has just lighted up in your belly, a brilliant idea suddenly appeared and you feel that you are now ready to be an entrepreneur. Are you?

From experience, it takes a long time for an entrepreneur to make big fortune. If you do not have the patience, I recommend you a job that makes money faster than an entrepreneur.

Be a politician.

 Source: Tan Thiam Hock, On Your Own/Starbizweek

The writer is an entrepreneur who hopes to share his experience and insights with readers who want to take that giant leap into business but are not sure if they should.

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China cracks down on P2P lending to curb illegal activities

• biznews005 CHINA’S P2P INDUSTRY OPERATION

BEIJING: China's banking regulator issued tough new rules on Wednesday to tighten regulation of the country's $60 billion peer-to-peer lending sector, which has been dogged by scandals and fraud.

The measures mark the latest attempt by China to reduce risks to the world's second-largest economy by cleaning up the its rapidly growing but loosely regulated online financial sector.

Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platforms will not be able to take deposits, nor provide any forms of guarantee for lenders, according to a joint document issued by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), Ministry of Public Security, Cyberspace Administration of China, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The regulator said some P2P firms were running Ponzi schemes and raising funds illegally, and said it would bar firms from 13 "forbidden" activities.

Under the new rules, P2P firms would not be permitted to sell wealth management products which are popular with many Chinese investors, nor issue asset-backed securities, and must use third party banks as custodians of investor funds, the regulator said.

It added that P2P firms cannot guarantee investment returns nor investment principal, and they would be subjected to higher disclosure requirements.

The regulations follow the April passage of a plan by the State Council, or cabinet, to clean up the non-bank financial sector after rare demonstrations by angry investors stoked fears of social unrest.

The banking regulator is responsible for tightening regulations over P2P, online trust businesses and online consumer finance firms

China's online P2P lending platforms, which match small business and individual borrowers with retail investors with spare funds, has seen rapid growth in the past two years largely due to the lack of regulatory oversight.

The industry raised more than 400 billion yuan ($60 billion)by November last year, CBRC data showed.

But among the more than 3,600 P2P platforms, more than 1,000 were problematic, the CBRC had said.

The rise of P2P lending was originally seen by the government as a type of financial innovation that could make funds accessible to credit-hungry consumers and small businesses, which continue to struggle to get loans from traditional financial institutions.

Beijing's hands-off approach to promote the rapid development of the sector, however, led to a large number of high-profile P2P failures, scandals and frauds.

The consequences have devastated many retail investors, who dumped their life-savings into P2P platforms in hopes of receiving double-digit returns, threatening China's social and financial stability.

 Ezubao, once China's biggest P2P lending platform, turned out to be a Ponzi scheme that solicited 50 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) in less than two years from more than 900,000 retail investors through savvy marketing.

Investor funds were squandered by Ezubao executives on lavish lifestyles. Retail investors are still unable to get back their hard-earned money, and many have blamed Beijing for its lack of regulation and scrutiny. - Reuters

Here Are Some of China's New Rules on P2P Lending

https://youtu.be/4gud7H8ajdA

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  China tightens rules for troubled P2P lending sector

China tightens rules for troubled P2P lending sector. China released new rules on Wednesday to tighten regulations covering the country's scandal-tainted peer-to-peer lending sector. Government officials say reducing risks and illegal activities in the US$60 billion sector has become a key

biznews 009 P2P REGULATION

• China tightens rules for online P2P firms

• China tightens rules for online P2P firms. The China Banking Regulatory Commission released new rules to tighten the supervision of online P2P firms on Wednesday. The new rules stipulate that the firms can't take public deposits, create asset pools or provide guarantee for lenders. Meanwhile, the rules...
  
  

   Sub-anchor: New rules on online P2P lending amid rampant fraud

  • this, joining us is my colleague Jin Yingqiao. Tell us more about the proposed rules, and how it will impact on the online peer-to-peer lending industry? Jin: Well Zou Yue, the draft rule published by the China Banking Regulatory Commission will be the first for China’s booming P2P lending industry....

    
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US-S.Korea must take blame for North's nuclear move; provocation heightens insecurity, sabotages stability

Provoking Pyongyang -  Shen Lan/GT: Pyongyang is provoked by US and South Korea

North Korea's Atomic Energy Institute on Wednesday claimed that it has reprocessed spent nuclear fuel rods removed from a graphite-moderated reactor in a written interview with Japan's Kyodo News. It also disclosed that its Yongbyon nuclear facilities have produced uranium needed for nuclear armaments. At a time when Beijing and Seoul are in a tug of war on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system, Pyongyang has thrown a bombshell.

North Korea mothballed the Yongbyon reactor in 2007 under the Six-Party Talks accord, but began renovating it amid the confrontation with the US and South Korea in 2013. Kyodo's report suggested that North Korea has resumed its reprocessing facilities and its nuclear reactor is in full swing.

This is a dilemma facing China, the US and South Korea. The choice of the latter two is simple. The more nuclear activities North Korea will carry out, the greater pressure they will impose on it. But their tactics are of no help in solving the problem.

Given the increasing risks of a military strike by the US and South Korea and subversion of the regime, Pyongyang seemingly has no other choice but to intensify its efforts in developing nuclear power. China seems to have the most options, but that has put the country in a predicament. Beijing has cooled down its relations with Pyongyang and imposed the toughest ever sanctions against it over the past several years.

Complaints from South Korea that China hasn't pressured Pyongyang enough have often been heard. Seoul hopes Beijing and Pyongyang will openly turn against each other. It is even better for Seoul to see the North targets its nuclear weapons at China. Meanwhile, Pyongyang blames Beijing for taking the wrong side.

China should stay unwavering to pursue denuclearization in the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, it should hold firm to opposing any strategic military deployment by the US that will cause threats to China's security under the excuse of dealing with the Peninsula situation. North Korea's resumption of uranium production further complicates the Korean Peninsula situation. But currently, China should pay more attention to THAAD.

Pyongyang has paid the price for developing nuclear weapons, so should the US and South Korea for deploying THAAD. Any resolution by the UN Security Council to denounce North Korea and adopt new sanctions should be associated with the THAAD issue. The US and South Korea should take the blame if THAAD impairs the effectiveness of sanctions against the North. Nonetheless, Pyongyang shouldn't feel relieved. It would rather be totally isolated from the international community before it gives up its nuclear ambition.

China objects to North Korea's nuclear tests and war on the Peninsula. But once large-scale military conflicts break out, the North and South Korea will take the brunt. China doesn't need to feel more anxious than them. Global Times

S. Korea-US provocation heightens DPRK's insecurity, sabotages regional stability

https://youtu.be/vBCGw8iNpJc

Under the pressure of South Korea-US military drill and the widely disputed THAAD deployment, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) reportedly fired a ballistic missile early Wednesday, sending a strong signal that Washington and its allies are risking turning the region into a powder keg.

If confirmed, the missile launch would be a new violation of UN resolutions. However, the fact that it came two days after the South Korea-US drill simulating an all-out attack by the DPRK merits a closer look at its motivation.

Denounced as aggression and provocation by the DPRK, the two-week Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises will surely not make Seoul safer. Rather, it might compel Pyongyang to take even more reckless actions for the sake of its own security.

In fact, the United States and South Korea have been warned in advance by the north. Calling the South Korea-US exercises the "most undisguised physical measure and provocative action," the DPRK has vowed to "foil all hostile acts and threat of aggression and provocation with the Korean-style nuclear deterrence."

Within that context, the launch could be regarded as a tit-for-tat move of Pyongyang.

Washington and Seoul are playing a dangerous game. They are holding a wolf by the ears in the hope that their sabre-rattling would deter the DPRK. However, their plan dooms to be a wishful thinking, as muscle-flexing leads to nowhere but a more anxious, more agitating and thus more unpredictable Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, the launch, already the fourth missile fired by the DPRK after the announcement of THAAD's deployment on July 8, could be interpreted as a protest against the planned installation of the system.

It also serves a reminder to policymakers in Seoul that by allowing the THAAD deployment, South Korea is putting the cart before the horse in their pursuit of national security, as the key to security lies in good neighborly and friendly relations with its neighbors, rather than a bunch of US-made missiles.

The increasingly complicated and stinging situation in East Asia needs to be cooled down before it is too late, and at this moment, what the region needs is cool heads instead of miscalculations. The ongoing trilateral meeting among Chinese, Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers offers a golden opportunity. - Xinhua

Related:   DPRK fires submarine-launched missile as S.Korea-U.S. war games kick off
The DPRK on Wednesday test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine off its east coast into the sea at a time of heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following the start of annual South Korea-U.S. war games, Seoul's military said.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug war confuses US, allies

Quotes: 'Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte surprised the Western world recently by threatening to “separate from the UN,” and saying he would invite China and African countries to form a new international body.'

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte surprised the Western world recently by threatening to "separate from the UN," and saying he would invite China and African countries to form a new international body.

Duterte's threat came in response to the UN's criticism of his anti-drug war that has seen more than 700 suspected drug traffickers shot dead on the spot by the military and police.

Philippine society is severely afflicted by drugs. Statistics show there are over 3.7 million drug addicts in the country, and drug dealers have formed a secure business network in collaboration with corrupt authorities. Duterte has publicly allowed military police officers to fire at will if necessary, and he has even encouraged vigilantes to kill defiant drug traffickers.

Duterte's new policy has won him great popularity and more than 600,000 drug traffickers and addicts turned themselves in half a month. However, the harshness of the anti-drug war has annoyed many Western media and human rights groups, which keep blaming Duterte for violating the rule of law and human rights.

Duterte's lash-out against the UN also featured criticism of the US. "Why are you Americans killing the black people there, shooting them down when they are already on the ground?" he asked. He also blamed the UN for not doing enough to deal with the human rights crises that are happening in Iraq and Syria and allowing big powers to bomb villagers and children.

Duterte's outspokenness makes him stick out among US allies. He was even dubbed the Philippines' Donald Trump before he was elected. His big mouth has raised concerns among the US and Japan particularly, which do not know whether he just talks, or he will walk the talk.

The Philippines' biggest value for the US and Japan is its territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. Washington and Tokyo hope Duterte could remain aggressive like his predecessor Benigno Aquino III and continue serving as a bridgehead for their geopolitical game against China, but Duterte does not find this role tempting. He knows that the US and Japan will benefit in the South China Sea tensions, not the Philippines.

Duterte does not want his energy to be heavily consumed by the long-standing territorial disputes, but wants to put more effort into domestic governance. His first action is to eliminate the most disturbing problem of drugs. However, even though his radical move has gained popularity among the Filipinos, it is against the Western-branded universal value of human rights.

If the anti-drug war continues to expand in the future, pressures from the US and the rest of the Western world will rise dramatically, and the Philippine-US relationship will also be victimized and become bumpy.

The Philippines and the US are close allies with many rifts. Manila needs Washington, but holds aversion to any aggressive intervention in the Philippines' home affairs. This, instead of the South China Sea disputes, is the crux that lies within Philippine society. - Global Times

Related:

Death Toll Soars in Duterte's Drug War - PressReader

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